Lee Fang recently in The Nation asked: “Does the NRA represent gun manufacturers or gunowners?” He doesn’t answer the
question specifically but does point out, “Is the NRA working for casual
gun-owners, many of whom, according to polling, support tougher restrictions on
gun ownership— or is the NRA serving the gunmaker lobby— which is purely
interested in policies that will promote greater gun sales and more profits?” The answer should be blatantly obvious to any
rational human being who has followed the unswerving radicalism of Wayne
LaPierre, head of the National Rifle Assn. (NRA).
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| Wacky Wayne laPierre |
Wacky Wayne and his 2nd Amendment rights
absolutism has become ad nauseum but what is absolute is the fact that
LaPierre’s zany antics are clearly in favor of promoting gun manufacturer
profits, along with his near-million dollar annual salary, and not what a
majority of gun owners want. And it is
pretty clear that the NRA now has financial ties to the $12 billion a year gun
industry based on their donations to the NRA since 2005 of almost $39
million.
As an example, Freedom Group, which
owns Bushmaster, the company that made the AR-15 military-style rifle used by
Adam Lanza in his bloody assault on Sandy Hook has donated between $25,000 and
$49,000 to the National Rifle Assn. (NRA).
In the Huff Post, Josh
Sugarman, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, said, “I think it’s
much easier for policymakers to defend the NRA when they’re perceived as
efforts on behalf of gun owners. That equation changes dramatically when
they’re seen as defending the gun industry.” So we have a triple threat going here. 1.) The possibility the NRA’s recent
shenanigans will turn off Congress. 2.)
The possibility the same will turn off some NRA members. 3.) And finally it will turn off the America
public. All in all it adds up to real
trouble for Wayne LaPierre and his minion gun nuts.
This long-standing ability of the NRA to bulldoze congressional
leaders is already on the wane as evidenced by the last election. During the presidential and congressional
elections, the NRA spent $17.4 million, while President Obama was reelected and
the organization failed to win six out of seven Senate races. Nowhere was the heat on to defeat Obama like
its pursuit by the NRA’s head Wayne LaPierre, except maybe with Sen. Minority
leader Mitch McConnell four years ago.
When the President took office, McConnell said the main goal of the GOP
was to see that Barack Obama was not reelected.
So what does all this have to do with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (left picture) calling the NRA “venal?” First, the definition of venal is: “Willing
to sell one’s influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery;
mercenary.” Further, the explanation of
“mercenary” is: “Working or acting merely for money or other reward.” Wayne LaPierre has taken an organization that
has a record of supporting reasonable gun control laws and turned it into a
façade that gives a new meaning to corruption and unscrupulous lobbying. And it is time that the NRA should be
investigated based on its non-profit status.
In 2012 GOP pollster Frank Luntz conducted a survey for
Mayors Against Illegal Guns and found that 74% of NRA members support mandatory
background checks for all gun purchases.
Wacky Wayne LaPierre and his NRA gun nuts have been adamantly against
this and any new gun law, no matter how reasonable. In 2004 the NRA fought successfully for
Congress not to renew the assault weapons ban, the kind of weapons used in many
of the recent mass gun massacres. It was
Dianne Feinstein that pushed through this law originally passed in 1994 under
Bill Clinton’s administration.
The NRA is constantly instilling fear into its
members telling them that President Obama is going to take away their
guns. Many of them gullible enough to
buy this crap run right out and buy more guns.
And that makes the NRA and gun manufacturers both happy and wealthy, but
simply leaves these members with less in their bank account. If this kind of momentum is allowed to
continue, it will be necessary to eventually pass a law on how many guns are
allowed in one household. By now the
absurdity of this whole issue should be obvious, even to the gun nuts.
